His to Hold: A Billionaire Romance (His to Have Book 2) by Piper Hayes Page A
Authors: Piper Hayes
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through Brooklyn by myself, wondering what just happened. I keep wondering why Blake doesn’t respect me. I wonder why no one respects me. I wonder if I even respect myself.
As I keep walking, I waver. I should just trust him , I tell myself. I should trust him if I want him to trust me. Maybe I should stop deluding myself and face the truth. Maybe this fight is my fault. After all, I only ever skated by on my family name, trading notoriety and social power for friendship. Maybe I’m the one incapable of a real relationship.
I run through everything in my mind: my relationship with Blake, with my father, with Felicity, with Ben. I reassure myself that I have changed for the better. I wasn’t acting out of self-interest when I went to Ben. I was only trying to help Blake, and instead I threw everything into disarray.
I’m so preoccupied that I don’t notice how dark it’s gotten or how cold. I have nowhere to go, and I don’t even know for sure where I am. I’m in a residential neighborhood, and I see couples and college students walking around. In my hoodie and jeans, I fit right in. I pull out my phone. No missed calls. I flip through my contacts and take a deep breath. This is what you have to do , I tell myself. I press send.
“Hey, can we meet up?” I ask. “I really need to talk.”
CHAPTER 11
CATHERINE
Ben’s apartment is a small third-floor walk - up. It’s clean and sparsely furnished. Aside from the pile of papers on the table, it looks barely lived in. It’s a shoebox of a place compared to what I’m used to, but it’s clean and bright and has working heat. The heat works so well that half of the windows are open to cool the place down. “You want something to drink?” Ben calls from the fluorescent - lit kitchen.
I mumble something in reply as I fumble with my phone. I turned it off partway into my walk. I didn’t want to hear any excuses from Blake, but now that it’s on again, I can’t believe he didn’t call. I have terrible service in Ben’s building, so I guess it’s possible he did call and I’m just not getting anything through. I don’t know why I feel like I need to hide my phone, but I do. I feel like it’s a betrayal of the kindness Ben has shown me by letting me come over.
I tuck the phone into my pocket as Ben returns with two bottles of beer. He hands one to me. It’s already starting to bead with condensation, and I start picking at the corner of the label with my thumb. I’m not normally a beer drinker, but then again not much has been normal for the past few months. I take a long sip and let the beer roll down my throat. “This place suits you,” I say. “It’s straightforward and unpretentious.”
He grins and knocks back a sip. “Are you buttering me up?” he asks. “If so, continue.”
“No, not at all. I just think you’re the only person I know who isn’t trying to be something else.”
“Blake?” is Ben’s only response.
“Blake, my father, even me to some extent. I never know where I stand anymore. One minute you think you’ve got things figured out and then you realize you’ve been lying to yourself the whole time. It’s like I keep setting myself up for disappointment.” I slump back into the couch.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how else to say it,” I say.
“Then don’t say anything,” Ben says. I worry for a second that I’m giving him the wrong idea, coming over like this, having a drink, but he isn’t making a move. “Do you still like old movies?” he asks. “I was going to get together with a few friends tonight to see one. Maybe you’d like to come. It’s a standing thing. There’s a movie theater a few blocks away that does screenings of classics. You look like you could use a distraction for a few hours.”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t,” I say.
“It’s not a date, Cat. It’s just a chance to get out of your head for a little while. I don’t know what’s going on between you and
As I keep walking, I waver. I should just trust him , I tell myself. I should trust him if I want him to trust me. Maybe I should stop deluding myself and face the truth. Maybe this fight is my fault. After all, I only ever skated by on my family name, trading notoriety and social power for friendship. Maybe I’m the one incapable of a real relationship.
I run through everything in my mind: my relationship with Blake, with my father, with Felicity, with Ben. I reassure myself that I have changed for the better. I wasn’t acting out of self-interest when I went to Ben. I was only trying to help Blake, and instead I threw everything into disarray.
I’m so preoccupied that I don’t notice how dark it’s gotten or how cold. I have nowhere to go, and I don’t even know for sure where I am. I’m in a residential neighborhood, and I see couples and college students walking around. In my hoodie and jeans, I fit right in. I pull out my phone. No missed calls. I flip through my contacts and take a deep breath. This is what you have to do , I tell myself. I press send.
“Hey, can we meet up?” I ask. “I really need to talk.”
CHAPTER 11
CATHERINE
Ben’s apartment is a small third-floor walk - up. It’s clean and sparsely furnished. Aside from the pile of papers on the table, it looks barely lived in. It’s a shoebox of a place compared to what I’m used to, but it’s clean and bright and has working heat. The heat works so well that half of the windows are open to cool the place down. “You want something to drink?” Ben calls from the fluorescent - lit kitchen.
I mumble something in reply as I fumble with my phone. I turned it off partway into my walk. I didn’t want to hear any excuses from Blake, but now that it’s on again, I can’t believe he didn’t call. I have terrible service in Ben’s building, so I guess it’s possible he did call and I’m just not getting anything through. I don’t know why I feel like I need to hide my phone, but I do. I feel like it’s a betrayal of the kindness Ben has shown me by letting me come over.
I tuck the phone into my pocket as Ben returns with two bottles of beer. He hands one to me. It’s already starting to bead with condensation, and I start picking at the corner of the label with my thumb. I’m not normally a beer drinker, but then again not much has been normal for the past few months. I take a long sip and let the beer roll down my throat. “This place suits you,” I say. “It’s straightforward and unpretentious.”
He grins and knocks back a sip. “Are you buttering me up?” he asks. “If so, continue.”
“No, not at all. I just think you’re the only person I know who isn’t trying to be something else.”
“Blake?” is Ben’s only response.
“Blake, my father, even me to some extent. I never know where I stand anymore. One minute you think you’ve got things figured out and then you realize you’ve been lying to yourself the whole time. It’s like I keep setting myself up for disappointment.” I slump back into the couch.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how else to say it,” I say.
“Then don’t say anything,” Ben says. I worry for a second that I’m giving him the wrong idea, coming over like this, having a drink, but he isn’t making a move. “Do you still like old movies?” he asks. “I was going to get together with a few friends tonight to see one. Maybe you’d like to come. It’s a standing thing. There’s a movie theater a few blocks away that does screenings of classics. You look like you could use a distraction for a few hours.”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t,” I say.
“It’s not a date, Cat. It’s just a chance to get out of your head for a little while. I don’t know what’s going on between you and
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